大姐頭的地盤

Both Decker and Stefanki were present in Roddick’s corner at Wimbledon a year later when his perseverance was rewarded by reaching a thirdWimbledon final. For four hours and 16 minutes against Federer, Roddick led his supporters on a rollercoaster of emotions. He had a two-set lead on his racquet in the second set tie-break, but a haunting backhand volley error reprieved Federer. In a phenomenal serving display, Roddick did not lose serve until the final game of the match as Federer clinched victory 16-14 in the 95-minute fifth set.

perseverance: 毅力，堅忍不拔
reprieve: 暫緩，暫時解救
 
 “I think a point here or there in that second set ultimately cost him at the end,” laments Stefanki. “But I’m very proud of the way he dug himself back out of that negative situation. As well as Andy served, I’ve been around since Roger was 17 and I’ve seen a lot of matches he’s played; that was the best I’ve seen him serve. That’s the agony of sports: There’s going to be a loser and a winner.”

lament: 為....悲痛 (這裡指Stefanki沉痛的表示前面所述的)
agony: 苦惱，極度痛苦
 
 Just how do you pick yourself up after a defeat like that? With Roddick, his competitive spirit just would not be quelled. Gimelstob recalls that, in typicalAndy Roddick fashion, pizzas were ordered, the match was dissected, and then it was put to bed. “It hurt him a lot, and it was emotional and a brutal situation. He has regrets, but he was also proud of the way he competed and played on a huge stage.”

quell: 平息，鎮壓 (這邊是指ANDY的好勝心沒有因此而不見)
dissect: 仔細分析
 
Roddick remembers, “A couple of days afterwards I thought every minute What if? What if? What if? What if? Two points away four or five times.’ And I couldn’t get that out of my head. But then a month later it’s once a day, and then a year later you don’t really think of it every day. Like in anything, time helps. The problem wasn’t how I felt about the way I was playing; the only thing wrong with that match was the result.

“Honestly, I think it bothered me more after I lost to [Yen-Hsun] Lu last year,” Roddick adds, recalling his fourth-round defeat in a 9-7 fifth set after nearly four hours of play. “It was almost a year hangover.” 


 
The defeat to Federer was the fourth time that Roddick had been foiled by the Swiss in a major final, having also lost in the 2004-2005 Wimbledonfinals and in the 2006 US Open title match. Following the Agassi-Sampras glory years, Roddick has been the torchbearer for American tennis in an era dominated by two Europeans, Nadal and Federer. It begs the question: Just what could Roddick have achieved had he not been challenged by two of the greatest players ever to lift a racquet? “You take out Roger and Rafa and I think Andy would have won five or six Grand Slams,” declares Bob Bryan. “He just came around in a tough era.”

foil: 陪襯，挫敗
torchbearer: 持火炬者 (在這裡就是我們所謂的美國新希望)
 
 When asked, though, Roddick is quick to embrace it as a privilege, not a hindrance. “It’s almost like a healthy jealousy. You want their success. I think the game’s a lot stronger playing-wise than when I started. If I refer to any part of my life as a hindrance, I feel like that might be a little obnoxious. I feel like people expect me to throw a pity party because I’ve played with great players. What tennis has afforded me, and the opportunities I’ve had because of it, I won’t complain about it.”

embrace: 擁抱，抓住
privilege: 優勢，特權，恩典，殊榮
hindrance: 障礙，阻礙
obnoxious: 令人討厭的
 
 Roddick is clearly one of the best of his generation. He won the US Open in 2003 and that year finished at World No. 1 in the South African Airways ATP Rankings. Four years later he fulfilled a life-long dream of winning the Davis Cup. There has been success for Roddick away from the court, too; in April 2009, he tied the knot with model and actress Brooklyn Decker and has seen his Foundation raise more than $10 million for children in need since its inception in 2001.

tie the know with sb.: 和...結婚 (因為婚禮上會把新郎新娘的衣角綁在一起打個結)
inception: 起初，起先 (大寫Inception就變成電影"全面啟動"囉)

 Roddick notes the proudest achievement of his tennis career as his consistency. The Texan has finished in the year-end Top 10 for nine consecutive years (2002-2010), placing him ninth on the All-Time Top 10 Finishes list. Among active players, only Roger Federer can boast such a record.

“He’s a Hall of Fame player that’s basically done everything he could do in tennis,” states Gimelstob. “His consistency will be his legacy. Top 10 player for 10 years and the trademark of his game is his work ethic, his intensity, his will. Obviously it helps by having that huge weapon of the serve.”

Says Roddick, “I’ve seen a lot of guys have two- and three-year windows where they’ve played really well and then I look back five years later and I’m like ‘Oh, I wonder what that guy’s doing now.’ To have been there as long as I have I think is a testament; I’m proud that I’ve worked. I don’t think I’m naturally as talented as a lot of guys, but I’m willing to work and I take almost a strange pride in that.”

And so it’s that time of year again. Roddick has moved in to his Wimbledon residence and the game face is on after a solid week’s preparation at The Queen’s Club. Little, explains, “When we move on to Wimbledon there is a little bit more tenseness in him, no doubt. He’s desperate to win it and he’s been so, so close. He feels the change in the pressure when we move up there.”

tenseness: 緊張

Critics may say Roddick’s time has passed; that his best chance was in 2009. But the mood in Team Roddick is one of unrelenting optimism. Roddick believes he has a couple of deep Grand Slam runs left in him and has come through the other side of niggling injuries and a mild bout of mononucleosis to arrive in as good a shape as he’s ever been in. The past three weeks have been spent honing his greatest weapon, the serve, and Stefanki believes it could be the key for Roddick to finally lay his hands on The Gentlemen's Singles Trophy at The Championships.

dampen: 消沉，減輕
 
 “What else am I going to do?” says Roddick. “I know a handful of people who really enjoy what they do and I really enjoy what I do. So there’s really no reason not to keep driving on.”